Twice-a-day sanitation of staff vehicles, disabling biometric attendance and asking expecting mothers to work from home... these are a few measures that India's oldest steelmaker Tata Steel has taken to limit the spread of coronavirus in its campuses across the country.
Apart from the measures, the largest Indian steelmaker has also set up a COVID-19 medical task force.
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"This is to review the medical preparedness (in terms of availability of PPEs, setting up of quarantine centres, isolation wards, training of doctors and other medical logistics) of Tata Steel hospitals in Jamshedpur and in raw materials locations across Jharkhand and Odisha," a company spokesperson told Moneycontrol.
The company owns mines in the two states.
Apart from Tata Steel, many other Tata Group companies have taken similar steps. While Tata Sons, the Group holding company, asked employees to avoid face-to-face meetings of more than 20 people, Tata Motors has asked its 40,000 employees in India to keep clear of public transport.
The steps are significant for these companies and the rest of India Inc to limit losses and disruptions at a time when overall economic activity in the country could come to a standstill. Till now three have died in India, and 126 have been reported for infection.
Most of the companies have restricted travel to the bare minimum. Tata Steel too has asked employees to avoid traveling, even within the country by air, road or rail. Those who have traveled to coronavirus-prevalent countries, have been asked to go on self-quarantine.
Advisory for stakeholders
Importantly, the steelmaker has asked its vendor partners to avoid coming to its premises.
"All visitor gate passes, physical meetings, non-essential plant visits, non-essential visits to Procurement, Finance & Accounts and any other agency need to be minimised and done using digital platforms like Phone, Email, Video Conferencing," the company said.
Tata Steel has several facilities across the country, including in Jamshedpur, Kalinganagar, in Odisha.
The company has asked the expecting mothers on its payroll to work from home, or even take 'special leave.'
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